Chapter 10: The Arcane Tower of Argent Flame
"Friends from afar, please state your identities and affiliations, if any."
The group of four looked at each other and then responded one by one.
"I am Feylis Murlox, an independent cultivator from this Mugthorne Kingdom. I have never had any affiliations, and have been based out of Silverbraid Town at Silverbraid Lake for the past several decades."
"I am Raina Murlox. Feylis is my grandpa, and I am here to take part in the recruitment for the Arcane Tower."
"H… Hello… My name is Jon. Jon Crowe. I come from Pinemist Village at Pinemist Mountain, and I am the son of the village chief. I am also here to try my luck with the recruitment."
"I am Damon Fletcher. I am also a resident of Pinemist Village. I am here to pursue the path of cultivation."
After the four of them had introduced themselves, the air ahead of them rippled, before the scene completely changed. In front of them was a huge gate, more than 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide, fixed into an even larger stone rampart. The gate was unrestricted and accessible, the heavy, metallic portcullis having been raised. There were numerous armor-clad guards stationed at the gate, and some could even be seen through the battlements at the top of the rampart.
Everyone gasped and stared wide-eyed. Although they had passed through several towns and even one city during their journey, they had never seen such impressive fortifications, especially not something of a scale even close to this.
One of the guards approached them with a large book in his hand and said, "I have recorded your information in this visitor's ledger. I will need you to imprint a blood seal on each of your pages to confirm whether the information is true or false. The page will remain normal if you did not lie during your introduction, and it will disintegrate into ash if you did. I hope you were all telling the truth, as otherwise we would have to detain you. The process is not pleasant."
Upon hearing his words, Damon grew wary. He stared at the ledger as he thought, A blood seal? Can it discern the difference between true and false? I said I have no affiliation, but… Does apprenticeship to an ancient Master count? Would it be able to detect my Mind Node? Or my secret inheritance?
Damon watched as the other three in his group pressed their bleeding thumbs down. Their pages each glowed with a faint white light. They had passed. It was now his turn. He stepped up, bit his thumb, and pressed down. All while keeping his mind as blank as possible.
The page glowed white. Damon exhaled a small sigh of relief as he withdrew his slightly trembling hand. It seemed this method was unable to detect secrets, only the veracity of the information written on the page.
Meanwhile, Feylis plastered an ingratiating smile on his face and said, "Sir guard, there are no falsities in any of the information we provided. We will follow your instructions quickly."
While they were making small cuts on their thumbs to imprint the blood seals, Feylis continued to say, "Sir guard, has the recruitment begun? Where do we need to go? Will they provide us with accommodations?"
"The recruitment began three days ago, but it will last for another month, so there is no need to rush. When you enter through the gates, you just need to head straight for the base of the tower, where they will take your applications. For accommodations, there are many inns and taverns you can find scattered about."
Unsatisfied with the explanation, Feylis withdrew an essence stone from his storage pouch and subtly handed it to the guard.
"Sir guard, it is our first time visiting the tower. Are there any rules to look out for? Do you have any tips for us?"
Having received the bribe, the guard turned visibly brighter and more accommodating.
"I recommend that you stay at the Silver Chalice Inn on the west side of Argent Flame City. Although the cost is not cheap, the venue is less rowdy than other lodgings, and the food is good. You should apply for tomorrow's recruitment test immediately after you enter, or you'll waste time. In terms of rules, you must not make trouble, and any battles outside the arena are prohibited. Make sure not to offend anyone wearing crimson robes with a silver flame mark on their chest. These are the apprentices of the tower, true Arcon focused on cultivation. They are different from rabble like us." The guard spoke with a hint of envy and indignation.
"Thank you for your stern warning, sir. We will heed your advice!" replied Feylis before leading the children in through the gate. Damon gained a new understanding of the inner workings of the world as he watched the typically wise and knowledgeable Feylis bribe and curry favor with a mere gate guard. I see. No matter how prideful you are, what is pride in comparison to knowledge? If I could trade some pride for some helpful information, I would stand to gain much more.
The party walked for around two minutes before emerging on the other side of the wall. Immediately, they were astounded by the sight they saw. Although they had heard the guard call it Argent Flame City, they did not expect to actually see a bustling city filled with all manner of people. They had expected to witness a more strict environment, with some cultivators attending to their business, but generally empty and disciplined. Instead, they could hear the cacophony of conversations, arguments between vendors and buyers, shouts of hawkers, laughter of children, and even the cries of different animals and beasts. They could see children running around, horses pulling carriages down the road, a street vendor arguing with a customer, and even steaming food stalls filled with colorful products.
"This… Is this the capital city of the Mugthorne Kingdom? Did we accidentally come to the wrong place?" asked Jon.
"I don't think so… The tower is right there, you can't miss it…" replied Raina.
"There are many mortals living here, which can only mean they were brought here by the high realm cultivators over a very long time. It looks like the mortals developed the city into the hustle and bustle we see before our eyes. It is definitely necessary to have some helpers to carry out mundane tasks, so this scene is probably not unique to this tower, and most similar associations will need to do the same," concluded Feylis.
Damon just observed without a word. His heart shook as he thought about how all these regular humans had been gathered to serve the cultivators. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of regular humans were toiling away their lives within the city. Living in the shadow of the Tower, these humans… They weren't even slaves. They were more like livestock being raised for the profit of the Tower. The price these people pay for safety… Is it worth it? To spend their short lives struggling for the sake of cultivators… Why do they even bother?
Damon's thoughts were cut off by Feylis. "Let us head to the base of the tower to submit the recruitment applications first. There, we can ask the staff where to find the Silver Chalice Inn."
They slowly walked down the main road leading to the tower, taking in the sights around them. There was no sign of anything mystical, and everything reminded them of a normal, albeit gigantic, city. They only reached the base of the tower after walking for a few more hours. There was a large, rectangular stone building, engraved with the words 'Argent Flame Outer Hall', with small groups of people gathered around the entrance. A wooden sign reading 'recruitment application and assessment' was placed by the entrance.
"That must be where we hand in our applications. Let us make haste as the day is almost over." Feylis led the way through the crowd and entered the building with the others. Inside the building, they saw a reception counter next to a hallway leading further in. A youthful lady, only just past her teenage years, was sitting at the counter perusing some documents.
"Greetings. We are here to submit our applications for the recruitment," said Feylis.
"Welcome! Please fill in these forms and place a blood seal at the bottom corner when you're done. Afterwards, hand them back to me, and I will process them for you. Your name will be added to the list of applicants for tomorrow's recruitment test!" The lady responded in a cheerful tone while handing out three pieces of parchment.
The three children finished filling out the application forms and handed them back to the lady.
"That will be three first-tier essence stones of any element as payment!" The lady held out her cupped hands.
"The recruitment costs essence stones?" asked Feylis.
"Yes! If we do not charge for recruitment, we will have too many applicants, and also be unable to pay the staff, including the higher realm examiners who oversee the recruitment test."
"I… See… Here are the three essence stones…" Feylis handed over three first-tier essence stones with visible reluctance and pain on his face. He had not expected to have to pay any essence stones for Raina, much less an additional two for Jon and Damon.
"Thank you for your application! The test will begin at dawn. Good luck on your test tomorrow, and we hope to see you again!"
The party walked out of the hall feeling as though they had been scammed, even though it was just the regular process. They asked a nearby guard for directions to the Silver Chalice Inn and made their way over. The trip took another couple of hours, and the sun had already set by the time they arrived.
"This city is so large, it takes too long just to move around to our destination. This must be the reason behind why there are so many horse-drawn carriages running around on the streets," Jon deduced.
"We should definitely hail a carriage tomorrow morning, otherwise we will have to wake up an extra hour earlier!" suggested Raina.
"Raina… Hailing a carriage will cost extra essence stones… You're right, we should rest longer and hail a carriage instead so you are in better condition for the test." Feylis had begun to reprimand his granddaughter when he saw her pout, and couldn't help but give in to her demand.
Feylis booked two rooms at the inn for the night, one for himself and Raina, the other for Jon and Damon. This cost him another two first-tier essence stones. He winced as he counted the remaining essence stones in his storage pouch. Five stones… Gone in a single day. One more for the carriage ride tomorrow, and that makes it six. He would have to risk his life in the wilderness, fighting beasts or gathering materials, to be able to earn that sum back.
With a look of suffering on his face, Feylis bid the boys goodnight after scheduling the time to meet in the morning. His only consolation was that he expected high returns, in the form of rewards from the tower, for bringing the two boys, particularly Damon.
The group reconvened outside the inn before the break of dawn. They hailed a passing carriage and paid a first-tier essence stone for the trip to the recruitment hall. They arrived slightly early, but many children and their guardians had already arrived, milling about near the entrance of the hall. They joined the crowd and stood around waiting for the testing to commence.
Precisely when the first ray of sunlight peeked over the nearby mountains, a short, middle-aged man with a goatee exited the hall and cleared his throat.
"Welcome, everyone. Thank you for being on time for the test. Punctuality is quite important in this tower, and therefore anyone on the list who has not yet arrived will either have to reapply to the test or give up on their future cultivation. Now, without further ado, please follow me into the inner courtyard of the building to undergo the assessment procedure."
All the participants filed into the building, while the guardians remained outside.
"Good luck, my beloved Raina. Also, good luck to you, Jon and Damon. I trust you will all do well."
"Thanks, Grandpa. We'll see you soon with good news!"